Olympic committee to vote on host city for 2020 games

The International Olympic Committee will decide Saturday in Buenos Aires, Argentina between Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul to host the 2020 games. The committee will also vote on which sport will be added to the games for 2020 and 2024.

Challenged with predicting which city poses the least amount of risk seven years ahead, 104 IOC member will have the Fukushima nuclear leak, civil war in Syria and Europe's economic crisis in mind.

"Some of the issues are big and difficult for IOC members: geopolitical, environmental and economic," Australian IOC member John Coates said.

Tokyo organizers responded on Friday to concerns about nuclear waste leaks.

Hiroshi Hase, a former Olympic wrestler and member of the Japanese parliament, played down the issue with a detailed presentation -- a strategy that has been lacking for several days as Japanese officials struggled with the subject.

"There is a very limited area where contaminated water is leaking out in the port," Hase said. "But we will monitor it, remove it and contain it. That is the gist of the strategy." Madrid and Istanbul avoided discussing geopolitical concerns and focused on highlighting the positive elements their respective cities offer.

Madrid has a star performer in Crown Prince Felipe, a former Olympic sailor and Spain's flag-bearer at the 1992 Barcelona Games. He wowed the members in his speech in July and will be Madrid's featured speaker in Saturday's presentation.

"He's an Olympian, which is always a great advantage," Coates said. "People have an empathy with someone who is one of theirs."

Istanbul is pitching its case as a "historic choice" for the IOC: the first Olympics in the region, the first in a city linking two continents, the first in a predominantly Muslim nation.

"Istanbul 2020 will be held against the backdrop of one of the most magical cities on the planet: a bridge between continents, cultures and generations for thousands of years," bid leader Hasan Arat said.

French IOC member Jean-Claude Killy said delegates may need to put all the current issues aside and look ahead to the situation seven years from now.

"You have to project yourself to 2020," the former skiing star said. "There's still seven years to get there. What's going to happen in those seven years in those three cities and those three countries? Who deserves it more, putting aside the problems?"

The IOC will vote on adding another sport to the games as well.

Wrestling is considered the favorite after the surprise announcement in February that the IOC was removing it from the list of core Olympic sports. Squash, offering a flexible and cost-effective option with the potential to find eye-catching locations, is trying to make the list for the third time, while baseball united with softball to try to return after being dropped for the 2012 and 2016 Games.

The committee will also consider who will be their new president. That vote is scheduled for Tuesday.

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press